IHCS Women Studies 2383-0743 11 31 2020 03 20 Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Stress and Depression in Infertile Couples Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Stress and Depression in Infertile Couples 1 18 5344 10.30465/ws.2020.5344 FA Maryam Starabadi PhD student in Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas Branch, Bandar Abbas, Iran. Azita Aminfakhraei Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Bandar Abbas Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran. Keramat Keramati Shahid Beheshti Campus, Bandar Abbas Branch, Bandar Abbas, Iran. Abdolvahab Samavi Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities, Hormozgan University, Iran. Journal Article 2020 06 24 Infertility is one of the major challenges in the modern life that some couples face and, as a result, their psychological and emotional health are deeply affected. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on stress and depression in infertile couples. It was a quasi-experimental research study with pre-test/ post-test control group design. The statistical population consisted of infertile couples referred to the Social Welfare Bureau at Bandar Abbas in the winter 2019. A total of 30 infertile couples were selected through the voluntary sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups (n=15). The experimental group received ten 90-minute ACT-based intervention sessions (Hayez et al., 2004). The research tools were the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II; Beck et al., 1996) and Fertility Problem Inventory (Newton et.al, 1999). For data analysis, an analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used. The results indicated that the ACT is effective on stress and depression in infertile couples, as such intervention resulted in decreased levels of stress and depression in this group. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that the ACT relying on mental techniques, self-observation, cognitive fault techniques, value clarification ​​and committed action can be an effective treatment to reduce stress and depression in infertile couples Infertility is one of the major challenges in the modern life that some couples face and, as a result, their psychological and emotional health are deeply affected. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on stress and depression in infertile couples. It was a quasi-experimental research study with pre-test/ post-test control group design. The statistical population consisted of infertile couples referred to the Social Welfare Bureau at Bandar Abbas in the winter 2019. A total of 30 infertile couples were selected through the voluntary sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups (n=15). The experimental group received ten 90-minute ACT-based intervention sessions (Hayez et al., 2004). The research tools were the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II; Beck et al., 1996) and Fertility Problem Inventory (Newton et.al, 1999). For data analysis, an analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used. The results indicated that the ACT is effective on stress and depression in infertile couples, as such intervention resulted in decreased levels of stress and depression in this group. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that the ACT relying on mental techniques, self-observation, cognitive fault techniques, value clarification ​​and committed action can be an effective treatment to reduce stress and depression in infertile couples http://womenstudy.ihcs.ac.ir/article_5344_2a600cbb710407a2e8320c236bd252c1.pdf